No prizes, but research proves that being aware and knowledgable about your environment, including a subtle appreciation of the living things it contains, improves your health and happiness, reduces stress, extends life expectancy and even enhances sexual function (or is that viagra, I forget, anyway...)

The full list is as Yaffle has already identified them. I add latin names here, not just as a matter of pedantry, but there is often a confusing array of common names for the same bird, and the Latin name is the unique identifier.

Spotted Doves are native to India and Southeast Asia.
Doves are unique from other birds as they drink by sucking, so they don't have to tilt their heads back to swallow.
They are found singly or in pairs, seldom in flocks.

Breeding: monogamous nests all year, 1-2 white eggs Courting behavior of the male is a rhythmic bowing. To advertise his nesting site, a male performs a flight display of a steep climb accompanied by loud wing claps followed by a downward swoop in a circular dive with stiff wings and fanned tail.

Nesting: Nest is a flimsy stick platform of twigs, grasses and roots in a tree, tall bush, or on a building, often quite low. 11-15 cm in diameter and shallow, 2-3 cm deep.

Incubation: 14 days. Both parents brood young. Both tend to the young and provide a very rich substance called pigeon milk for the chick’s first six or seven days. The next week food for the chick is regurgitated seeds and grain.

Fledging: 14-16 days As soon as the young leave the nest, a new clutch is begun.

Voice: low coo-croo-coo; soft te-croo-croo; three note coo-coo-croo with emphasis on last note.

Lifespan: 1-4 years in the wild; reported as up to 20.

Diet: seeds and grains. Forages on the ground.

Habits: solitary to paired, non-migratory but known to expand range as territories fill.

Nice shot - I've never managed anything more than a blackish dot with my camera, so look forward to some more tele-zoom bird shots. There are some great young Chinese bird photographers in the HKBWS, and some of their stuff can be viewed at:

I've also just noticed Foxy's posting about ring species. I don;'t know much about this, but I've copied a definition etc from mark Ridley's "Evolution." As fdar as I know, all the sparrows here are of the Aisan Tree sparrow variety - no house sparrows.

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What is a ring species?

A ring species is a situation in which two populations which do not interbreed are living in the same region and connected by a geographic ring of populations that can interbreed. Famous examples of ring species are the herring and lesser black-backed gulls in northern Europe (pictured opposite) and the Ensatina salamanders of the West Coast of the USA.

A ring species can be best imagined like this:

Imagine a species that is geographically distributed in a straight line from east to west across America: it is possible that the forms in the east and west are so different that they could not interbreed. Now imagine taking the line and bending it into a circle, such that the end points (formerly in the east and west) come to overlap in space.

If they do not interbreed then the geographic distribution of the species will be in the shape of a ring, and they will be 'ring species': the extreme forms do not interbreed in the region of overlap. A ring species has an almost continuous set of intermediates between two distinct species, and these intermediates happen to be arranged in a ring. At most points in the ring, there is only one species; but there are two where the end-points meet.

Nice shot - I've never managed anything more than a blackish dot with my camera, so look forward to some more tele-zoom bird shots. There are some great young Chinese bird photographers in the HKBWS, and some of their stuff can be viewed at:http://www.hkbws.org.hk/frame.html

Thanks Zep, although I'd held onto this pic for a while before posting as it was taken early morning in bad light.

Have been enticing the pigeons & other birds onto my rooftop with tidbits ever since hoping for "good" light - will replace the picture as soon as I have a better shot.

Diet: Magpie Robins have a varied diet of fruits and animals but are particularly fond of insects and worms. They forage in trees as well as on the ground, where they hop with their tail raised. They also sip nectar.

Breeding: Magpie Robins breed in January to June. Males court females with hearty song, usually at dawn and dusk, moving their tails up and down in tune. They can be very territorial during breeding.

Nesting: They build their nests almost anywhere from thick shrubs, in the fork of branches of small trees, palms (at the base of the palm frond), hollow trees and even near human habitation: under a veranda, in a hole in the wall, in an old tin can, etc. Nests are usually built low. Their nests are large, untidy, shallow cups loosely made from grass or dried leaves, twigs, moss, roots. These are lined with fibres or grass. 3-5 eggs are laid, pale blue or greenish with brown or purple spots.

Incubation: The female incubates, but both raise the young.

Voice: Magpie Robins have a delightful varied song and are said to be able to imitate the calls of other birds. They are sprightly and lively, often cocking their long tails. They are easy to spot as they are not shy and sing from exposed perches. Sometimes, they may abruptly sing at night!

Habits: Non-migratory

Habitat: They prefer open areas such as mangroves, gardens, cultivated areas. They are not found in the deep forest.

Threats: Illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade, competition from the better-adapted Mynas (Acridotheres spp.) and loss of their favoured habitats: mangroves and rural areas.

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